


Absence

by nychus



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, two idiots in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-20 20:57:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17629562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nychus/pseuds/nychus
Summary: Noctis had hoped that Ignis being gone would break his crush. But you know what they say: absence makes the heart grow fonder.





	Absence

It had been one and a half years since Noctis had last seen Ignis. Ignis was given the opportunity to study under various advisers of both Tenebrae and Accordo and after long talks with both Noctis and his uncle, Ignis decided it was something he couldn’t pass up.

Communication between prince and adviser wasn’t easy. Between schedules and time zones, they almost never got a chance to talk on the phone. Emails were the main source of communicating, giving each a chance to catch the other up on what was going on.

Noctis, much to everyone’s surprise (including himself), did well without Ignis. There was an adjustment period, but Noctis either had to learn to do things on his own or have someone that wasn’t Ignis get into his personal space. Noctis opted for the lesser of two evils. Honestly, it was good for him, though he was loathed to admit it. A lot of things he had taken for granted were suddenly gone and he needed to figure it out for himself. But he did, and he was proud of himself. So were his father and friends.

Even though Noctis hated to see Ignis go, he hoped that it would give him a chance to work through whatever odd feelings that he had developed for the young man as he had grown and started noticing things like how handsome someone was and how attractive intelligence is. Surely, if Ignis was gone, Noctis would lose that constant reminder of what he considered the most perfect man and be able to move on.

Noctis was quick to realize there really was something to the old adage of “absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

Not that he didn’t try. He went on dates and even found a couple of guys that he actually kind of liked. They were no Ignis, but who was? Nothing lasted however. He never quite made boyfriend status with anyone, even the one he dated for three months.

“So, why did you and Caleb breakup?” Prompto asked one day while they were doing cool down exercises.

“Because lover boy is insistent on leaving a string of heartbroken men in his wake,” Gladio laughed.

Noctis just rolled his eyes. “First, it’s not really a breakup if we weren’t ever officially together.”

“You dated him for like, three months, right? How do you not become official by then?” Prompto asked.

“We only went on four dates during that time. I’ve been pretty busy lately and he had things to do too. It was hard to coordinate any time to actually date.”

“So, he broke it off because he was tired of waiting?” Gladio asked.

“No,” Noctis sighed. The other two watched him expectantly and Noctis could feel his face just begin to heat up. “I broke it off because he was adamant about sex and I wasn’t ready.”

“He wouldn’t have waited?”

“He may have, but it was the same thing with Girard. He wanted sex, I didn’t, and even though he said it was fine, the next couple of times we went out, all I could think about was how I wasn’t ready. I broke it off with both because I’m just not ready for that and I don’t know when I will be. It’s not fair to them.”

The others nodded and didn’t ask any more questions. Noctis was thankful for that, because he wasn’t sure what he’d say if they asked why he didn’t feel ready. Somehow saying “I think I’m in love with Ignis” didn’t feel like it would go down the right way. Especially since it was still something he was struggling with admitting to himself.

A few days after that conversation, Noctis was surprised to hear his phone ring with Ignis’s ringtone. He glanced over at his phone to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating and then picked it up.

“Ignis?”

“Highness, I hope I’m not disturbing you?” Ignis said. It had been months since they had last spoken to each other and there was something wonderful about hearing Ignis’s voice.

“No, I’m just looking over some reports, but it’s beginning to blur so I’m glad for a quick distraction. What’s up? Isn’t it the middle of the night where you are?”

Ignis laughed. “Actually, it is precisely 20:34 where I am.”

Noctis looked at the clock on his microwave. “That’s the time it his here. Are you home?!”

“Almost. I’m in Galdin. I should be back to Insomnia in two days.”

“When did you know you were coming home?” Noctis asked, trying to remember if Ignis had said anything in his last email, which was about a week ago. If Ignis was traveling, the silence now made sense; Ignis rarely went two days without at least an email to say hello.

“Five days ago. There wasn’t much notice and we had to pack up and leave pretty quickly. The Empire was beginning to grumble at our presence in Tenebrae and so Ravus made us make a hasty retreat. Everything is fine, we just didn’t want to cause any trouble.”

“I hate how the Niffs use their power to strong arm Ravus,” Noctis said.

“He and Lady Lunafreya do their best with Niflheim breathing down their backs. We didn’t want to cause any extra worry and were happy to comply,” Ignis said.

“Wish I would have known, I would have met you in Galdin.”

“And shirk your duties as prince? I should think not.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Noctis laughed. “Let me know when you get back into town. I can’t wait to see you.”

“And I, you. Goodnight, Highness.”

“Night, Specs.”

Line disconnected, Noctis dropped his phone and stared at the papers surrounding him on the table. He knew he wouldn’t get back to these tonight. The moment he heard Ignis on the other end of the phone he was very aware how is evening was going to end.

He should feel bad, he knew he should. And he did to a degree. Surely it wasn’t normal to rub one out while replaying a rather mundane conversation through your head just so you could keep the sound of the voice fresh. But his release was always so much better after a phone call with Ignis and sometimes that was all a guy needed.

~*~*~*~*~

Noctis was walking down the hallway, headed towards a meeting with one of the committees he was in charge of and he found himself doing a double take. Standing just inside one of the office suites of some of his father’s advisers was a man that looked suspiciously like Ignis. But it couldn’t have been. Ignis was all white button ups and black slacks, hair that fell into his face, and nerdy glasses. This man had the black slacks, but also a dark blue shirt, hair styled in an upward direction, and trendy glasses. His entire being screamed a self confidence that Noctis didn’t know Ignis was lacking. Ignis had always seemed so sure of himself, but now he was holding himself in such a way that told the world he was the be-all-end-all of all men. And Noctis believed it.

Ignis must have felt him staring, because a second later he looked over and their eyes met. With a smile, Ignis excused himself from his conversation and quickly made his way to the prince.

“Highness.”

“Iggy, wow, look at you!” Noctis said, finding his voice. “The time away did you good, I think.”

He laughed. “I think it did you as well. Or better.”

Noctis was about to say something to refute Ignis’s statement, but his phone dinged, telling him he needed to hurry to his meeting. “I gotta go, but dinner tonight?”

“I look forward to it. Is there anything you would like me to cook?”

“What? No! Ignis, you just got back. I’ll work out dinner. I’ll see you later!”

Noctis jogged to his meeting, wondering how he was going to get through the rest of the day with that image of Ignis in his head.

~*~*~*~*~

Dinner was a wonderful affair. Noctis actually cooked dinner and even though it was simple, it came out just great. Ignis was quite pleased and admonished Noctis for demurring on his accomplishments.

“You’re the only one I’ll admit this to, but I think it did me good to have you go away,” Noctis said. “You no longer have to worry about me as much. I can actually take care of myself.”

“I always knew you could,” Ignis laughed a bit before becoming serious. “To be honest, I needed the time away too. I think we both needed to learn how to not depend on the other.”

“Yeah,” Noctis reluctantly agreed, “but don’t leave like that again. I missed you.”

Ignis agreed and they fell into the comfortable silence that Noctis never knew he had missed. It was Ignis that broke the silence a few minutes later.

“Apologies if this is something you don’t wish to discuss with me, but the last I heard from Gladio, he mentioned you were dating someone?”

Noctis’s eyes widened for a second in surprise, but he wouldn’t deny Ignis the information. He had never really meant to not tell him, he just figured it was pointless if it didn’t go anywhere.

“Yeah, kinda. Four dates in three months doesn’t exactly scream dating, but there you go.”

“Are you still seeing him?”

“Naw, I broke if off. He wanted sex and I didn’t. I would like to know someone before I jump into bed with them. Any guy I dated were itching to get there much faster. Most after just one date,” Noctis scoffed. “I want to believe it’s just the culture of the day, but I feel like my status probably had a lot to do with it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Noct.”

He shrugged. “It is what it is.” Looking at his friend, Noctis saw a look that suggested Ignis was hurt he hadn’t heard anything before now. It probably didn’t help he also heard it from Gladio. “I’m sorry I never told you, but it never seemed important. There was always so many other things to say and as none of these guys went anywhere, they never felt like the deserved to be in our limited conversations.”

Ignis did smile at that.

“What about you, though? Looking like that, you must have been beating away all the suitors with a stick.”

“Hardly. I was too busy for much more than the occasional Friday night drink with my colleagues. Especially in Tenebrae. The group I worked with in Altissia were a bit more insistent on dragging me out and giving me a makeover. I wasn’t sure at first, but the look kind of grew on me.”

“It’s a good look,” Noctis was quick say. Probably too quick. He did notice a rather pleased smile and a slight blush on Ignis though.

“I am pleased to hear you say so. I wasn’t quite sure what the others around the Citadel were thinking.”

“Trust me, they were thinking it’s a good look,” Noctis laughed.

~*~*~*~*~

Days went by and it was easy to get back into a routine with Ignis. There were meetings and notes to be read and training to be done and everything just seemed better now that Ignis was home.

Everything seemed much too better. Ignis coming over to the apartment was making it seriously difficult for Noctis to concentrate on anything. Papers? Tv? Video games? Nothing could keep his attention as much as Ignis. And as soon as Ignis was out the door, Noctis was quick to head for a cold shower.

A little over a week after Ignis returned, Noctis finally snapped.

“Ignis, stop, just…just stop.” Noctis had died one too many times on his game and had grown very frustrated with everything.

Ignis, who was just tidying up the kitchen while their dinner cooked, looked extremely confused. “Stop what?”

“Stop coming over here dressed like that.”

“I thought you approved of my new wardrobe,” Ignis said slowly.

“I do, that’s the problem! It’s the straw that broke the chocobo’s back! Before I could handle your cute, nerdy look and deal with the…the…” Noctis made a weird grunting noise and waved his arms around in a way that indicated he meant all of Ignis “the wonderfulness that is you. Then you come back and dress all sexy and I just can’t concentrate on anything!”

“And it will be better if I no longer wear these clothes?”

He collapsed back into the couch and gave a defeated sigh. “I dunno, maybe. Probably not, but…what are you doing?”

Ignis had started to unbutton his shirt, “I am too much of a distraction with these clothes on, so I suppose I should just remove them.”

Noctis stared, mouth slightly open and Ignis stared back, hands stopped at the third button down.

After a moment, “You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?” Noctis asked.

“Perhaps a little.”

There was a beat of silence before laughter filled the apartment. Noctis wasn’t sure what caused him to think this was the funniest thing ever, but for several moments he couldn’t stop laughing. When he finally did, Ignis had joined him on the sectional and was facing him, looking a bit bemused.

“It’s okay to completely forget about everything I just said,” Noctis managed between breaths.

“Do you know the saying, ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder?’” Ignis asked.

“Yeah, it’s a stupid saying that shouldn’t be true. I kind of hoped my crush on you would go away, yet it only intensified.”

“I too hoped that time away would allow for the feelings I developed for you to wane. They did not.”

The words took a bit to sink into Noctis’s brain as he was finding shy, blushing Ignis way more attractive than should be allowed. That blush was so cute on Ignis’s face and…

Noctis’s hearing caught up to his brain, “Wait, what? You had feelings for me?”

“Have.”

A devilish grin slid across his face as Noctis slid his body over to Ignis’s. “Really?”

“Yes. And I am quite happy to know you return those feelings.”

“You’re okay with it? I mean, what about propriety and all that other stuff you tend to worry about?”

“You are hardly the first in your line to develop feelings for one of your retainers,” Ignis pointed out. “Not that we have an easy road ahead of us, should we decide to pursue a relationship, bu—” 

“Can we? I mean, do you want to? Pursue a relationship? Because I do. I really, really do.”

Ignis hesitated and Noctis could see his brain calculating all the terrible things that could happen.

“Yes or no, Ignis.”

“Yes,” was the answer and Noctis grinned wide, throwing his arms around Ignis’s neck.

“I should probably talk to Dad. Give him a heads up, but I know he won’t care. We should probably tell Gladio and Prompto at the same time, but we can hold off on that if you want. Test this all out first. We might find we’re not actually compatible, right? I don’t think that’ll happen, but it might! OH! We can sleep together again!”

“Noctis!”

“No, no, not like that,” Noctis laughed, waving his hand dismissively. “Although, one day, hopefully. But, to be able to curl up next to you and feel your comforting presence. I want that again. And we can go slow. We should go slow, but let’s just go. You’ll go with me?”

“Always,” Ignis said instantly and Noctis smiled.

A second later, the timer dinged, signaling that dinner was ready. Together, they got up and went to the kitchen. While Ignis pulled out the food, Noctis set the table. He even added the extra little touch of a couple of candles.

“So, how many times did you have this conversation in your head and had tried to predict all the awful things I would say?” Noctis asked once they were settled. “I’m pretty sure I went through it a couple of times a day while you were gone and I never imagined you could feel the same way.”

Ignis chuckled, “I imagine my run-throughs were pretty similar and equally fatalistic. When my colleagues in Altissia started prodding me about my love life, I eventually described you in all the ways that didn’t include your station. They…they dressed me in a way they thought would get your attention.”

“It certainly did,” Noctis said.

“I am so very glad for that,” Ignis replied. He then lifted his wine glass for a toast. “To us and to whatever comes of this lunacy.”

“To us,” Noctis repeated.

He was quite looking forward to experiencing whatever lunacy was to come.

**Author's Note:**

> Heeeeeey. Here's a thing! Kinda based on the fact that my PlayArts Noctis and Ignis had been separated for a year and a half and are now quite happy to be back together. See, I wasn't into IgNoct when I moved home, so I only kept Ignis out of storage. About a month later, I realized I'd made a terrible mistake, but there was nothing to do.
> 
> But they are together now! We're happy in our new home, in our new city, with my new job, and with all the exhaustion that comes with moving and working full time again and staring around my apartment wondering why the moving faeries haven't come to put up all my stuff.
> 
> One day I'll have cleared off all the tables and have emptied all the boxes. One day...


End file.
